'TAMBALOSLOS’

By Philip M. Lustre Jr.

(N.B. I've never encountered a single native word that been subjected to a thorough conceptual analysis. Whew!)

IN my youthful days, my late grandmother, a pure Pampaguena, scolded me for being haughty, naughty, and hyperactive. She used the pejorative word "saligawsaw," whenever I went out of bounds.

Being old school, Lola Felisa was a stickler to decorum, or else she would castigate me using that single Pampango word.

Ilocanos have an equivalent of that word. Kids, who have the propensity for lies and hyperactivity are called "salawasaw." The two words sound so similar. I have been a little fascinated to find out their equivalent in other dialects.

While in a taxicab in Davao City six years ago, I heard over the radio a commentator, who described and lambasted a bunch of truant local public officials there as "tambaloslos."

I immediately asked the driver about its meaning. Lo and behold, it was no different from the two pejorative words I have described. That word sounded fascinating for a Manileno like me.

I posted my impressions about that word in social media, particularly Facebook, and I got plenty of replies. Indeed, that word is part of the Visayan folklore.

From a high school batchmate: “Tambaloslos means naughty, haughty and hyperactive. You always have it with you: punishment andr aching wounds! Tambal goes together with, as in "katambal;” “los” is short for hambalos or punishment and the second “los” is “galos” or wounds.”

Another netizen said: “Tambaloslos is someone who is good for nothing.”

A netizen friend said that word is a Visayan word for a “super large penis,” but it also refers to a person, who is considered "worthless."

A seemingly angry netizen said: “You’re a pr*ck" in Bisaya "Tambaloslos ka"

A netizen, who claimed to be an Ilocano, digressed from the issue, saying "salawasaw" is one who “habitually utter, or speak foul words." It is the same as “bastos" in Tagalog.

Two Ilonggo netizens likewise digressed to offer the equivalent words in Hiligaynon. A netizen said Ilonggos tag a worthless person as “sariwa-ol," while another netizen said hyperactivity is "palakan," which is derived from word "palak," or unreasonable activity.

Other netizens had varying explanation of the “tambaloslos.” A netizen said: “Tambaloslos is a supernatural being who when you are walking alone in the wilderness makes you lose your way and then try to eat you. It will first peel itself begining from his lips all the way down until its skin is inside out. Such scary sight will surely make you lose your mind and that's when he starts to eat you.”

He continued: “The antidote to that sir if you can remember first before he eats you is by turning your clothes inside out fast before he does with his skin. And don't turn your clothes inside out again until you find your way home or your intended destination.”

Another netizen said: “Tambaloslos in Bikol folklore is a mythical creature whose main characteristic is a wide mouth that stretches from ear to ear and very thick lips that measures 2-3 inches (yes, somebody must have been crazy enough to measure with a ruler just to be exact).”

This supernatural being could be called “sarawayon” in Bicolano, another netizen said in a rejoinder. Or it could be likened to a “kapre” in Tagalog folklore, another netizen chimed in.

Another explanation by a netizen: Tambaloslos, in some sense, can be understood generally as "bayag mo, (your testicle).”

It appears this word has several meaning in the pejorative sense. It is even part of the Visayan folklore.